NJ’s COVID-19 Mega Site Opens At Atlantic City Convention Center

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — New Jersey opened a coronavirus vaccine "mega site" at the Atlantic City Convention Center on Friday, according to Atlantic County officials.

The Atlantic City "mega site," one of six in the state, has the capacity to vaccinate between 2,500 and 3,500 people per day. Lori Herndon, President and CEO of AtlantiCare, said the site will not be able to operate at full capacity as vaccine supply from the federal government is still limited.

“There will be a very small trickle of vaccine that is coming into this community. We will do everything in our power to get it into every arm that we can,” Herndon said Wednesday during a virtual town hall sponsored by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber.

The site is currently booked with appointments, but more will be added here, the site said. AtlantiCare told NJ.com that more appointments are scheduled to be made available on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m.

People who are currently eligible to receive the vaccine must be in Category 1a, which includes healthcare workers, police and firefighters, and 1b, specifically people over 65 and those between 16 and 64 with specific medical conditions.

The other five "mega site" locations include the Moorestown Mall in Burlington County, Rowan College of South Jersey in Gloucester County, the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Middlesex County, Rockaway Townsquare in Morris County and Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment Complex in East Rutherford.

As of Friday morning, more than 490,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered across the state, including 15,292 doses in Atlantic County, according to the state health department.

Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Galloway Patch. Have a news tip? Email kimberlee.bongard@patch.com.